Can you recommend a good commentary and study Bible?

Question:

Dear sir,

Could you please recommend a good Bible commentary and study Bible?

Thank you very much.

Answer:

Commentaries are basically a man or a group of men's opinions about what the Bible is saying. The opinions might be good or they might be completely wrong depending on the personal bias of the commentator and his knowledge of that particular passage. Most study Bibles are nothing more than mixing in commentary with the Bible text. What I find happening far too often is that the person treats the commentary as if it is as authoritative as the inspired text. They let the commentator sway their thinking instead of thinking on their own.

Read your Bible repeatedly. If you come to a difficult passage, try looking at verses that are cross-referenced to that passage. If your Bible lacks a cross-reference, there are independent cross-references, such as the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge or the Thompson Chain Reference. If you are still unsure, then use two or three commentators from different backgrounds. I tend to focus on what passages they might use to support their position. I might also use commentaries to learn about the different views of a passage or to see what issues might exist in translating a particular passage. It is not who states a belief that makes it right but how well you understand what God is actually saying. There are a number of commentaries listed on the References page.

In regards to a study Bible, check out an Inductive Study Bible. This one doesn't have commentary or even section titles. Instead, it teaches you a way to study your Bible book-by-book with suggestions to mark up the text to help you notice things and questions to answer about each book.

Response:

Thank you!

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